In the early days of mobile gaming, the games were fairly simple, but as long as you were willing to look at a few ads you could play Fruit Ninja, Jetpack Joyride, or Angry Birds to your heart’s content. However, things have changed, to the point that games either fully restrict your playtime with lives/energy or make it pointless to play after a certain amount of time (with rewards capped at a certain limit per day). If you’re tired of digging through the muck, here are more than 10 of the best mobile games you can actually play for hours, without any direct or indirect time restrictions.
A note: Most of the games on this list aren’t free, because premium games are the ones that are most likely to give you a lot of content. However, with Google Play Pass, you can play many of them for free for a small monthly fee. Also, if you’re on iPhone, you can play a lot of great games for a small monthly fee with Apple Arcade, but I don’t currently have an iPhone so none of them are listed here.
The Battle of Polytopia
I’m starting with The Battle of Polytopia because it’s the only game on this list that’s completely free, but also because it’s just one of the best mobile games out there. If you’ve ever wanted to play Civilization on a scale that’s been shrunken down for your phone, you have to play this game. It’s one of the best mobile turn-based strategy games out there.
Download the Battle of Polytopia for iPhone or Android for free, and unlock all in-app purchases with Google Play Pass
Dragon Quest V (well, any of them really)
While The Battle of Polytopia is one of the best mobile games out there, Dragon Quest V is one of the greatest RPGs of all time. You can play most of the mainline Dragon Quest games on your phone, but Dragon Quest V is my personal favorite. In DQV, you play through the hero’s life in three stages: as a kid adventuring with his dad, as a young adult, and as a father himself. Dragon Quest V also pioneered monster-collecting in RPGs, paving the way for games like Pokemon. If you want to go back to where a lot of great RPGs drew their inspiration, play Dragon Quest V. It’s worth every penny.
Download Dragon Quest V for iPhone or Android for $14.99
Ticket to Earth
Ticket to Earth is the most original puzzle RPG you can play on your phone. It’s hard to explain, but the basic gameplay is something like a cross between a match 3 puzzle game and a strategic board game like chess. Ticket to Earth also includes a rich story with side quests and upgrades, making this a meaty RPG despite the fact that it’s a mobile game. If you love simple puzzle games on your phone and want to step up to something a little more complex, Ticket to Earth is the perfect place to start.
Download Ticket to Earth for iPhone or Android for $4.99
The Sorcery! Series
The Sorcery! series turns your smartphone into four of the best choose-your-own-adventure books out there. The best part of the Sorcery! series is that you can pick up where you left off across games, so you can take your Sorcery! 1 progress into Sorcery! 2, and so on. If you have a long flight ahead of you without internet, the Sorcery! series might just be your very best option.
Download Sorcery! for Android or iPhone for $5.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
Download Sorcery! 2 for Android or iPhone for $5.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
Download Sorcery! 3 for Android or iPhone for $5.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
Download Sorcery! 4 for Android or iPhone for $5.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is one of the deepest RPGs ever made, and also happens to feature one of the most beloved worlds out there. It’s the oldest game on this list (based on its original release), and it does show a bit of its age, but it’s arguably the biggest premium RPG experience you can play on your phone. Whether you haven’t played KOTOR in 15 years or you’ve never touched it at all, you should pick up the mobile version of KOTOR, especially if you have Google Play Pass, because then you can avoid buying it outright for $9.99.
Download Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for iPhone or Android for $9.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
Stardew Valley
Stardew Valley just might be the best farming/village simulation out there. Made mostly by one man who wanted to revive the genre of Harvest Moon-like simulation games, Stardew Valley is a game that will draw you in with its charms and then get its hooks into you with its complexity. It’s an open-ended farming simulation, but it also has a long objective-based story for people who like a little structure in their games. Unfortunately, this version of the game does not include multiplayer.
Download Stardew Valley for iPhone or Android for $7.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
Minecraft
It’s Minecraft, previously known as Pocket Edition, now simply known as the mobile version of the bedrock edition. There’s really not much to say. One bonus, though, is that you can use Minecraft Realms to play in the same world whether you’re on PC or mobile, as long as you’re using a bedrock edition in all cases.
Download Minecraft for iPhone or Android for $6.99
Terraria
It’s Minecraft, but in 2D (and a legendary game in its own right). Terraria was initially released almost 10 years ago, but it got its final update within the last year. When that amount of care goes into a game, it’s hard to pass up, especially for Google Play Pass subscribers who can play it for free.
Download Terraria for iPhone or Android for $4.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
Game Dev Tycoon
If you want to get meta, Game Dev Tycoon is a great way to see what it would be like to run your own game studio. You start in the era of gaming immediately before the NES comes out, and you can go all the way through to the current gen. You pick a platform and a genre, then make various decisions about the game, like whether to focus on story (the right choice for an adventure game) or gameplay (the right choice for an action game). Game Dev Tycoon is a hell of a timewaster for gamers, and it’s well worth its price of purchase even if you don’t have Google Play Pass.
Download Game Dev Tycoon for iPhone or Android for $4.99, or download free with Google Play Pass
Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition
Finally, for the most expensive game on this list, there’s Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition. Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition is the entire story of Final Fantasy XV shrunken into a chibi artstyle and converted to touch controls. It’s pretty cool that Square Enix released this, since it’s a way for Final Fantasy fans to experience the latest mainline game without having to have a current console. It’s pricey, at a whopping $20, but considering the fact that it’s the newest Final Fantasy with just a few graphical and gameplay compromises, it’s hard to complain.
Download Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition for iPhone or Android for free to start, then buy the rest of the game for $19.99
If you want a smartphone game that can keep you occupied for hours without any life/energy restrictions or time limits, any of the games listed above is an excellent choice. Happy gaming!
